Hawaii drug take-back initiative hopes to save hundreds of lives

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

The Department of the Attorney General, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Public Safety, is coordinating the National Take Back Initiative on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii Saturday.

Anyone with expired or unused prescription medications is encouraged to bring their medications to a collection site on Saturday, April 26, 2014, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

This service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Tablets, capsules, and all other solid dosage forms of medication will be accepted. New or used needles and syringes will not be accepted.

Having unused and expired medicine in your home increases the risk of prescription drug abuse and accidental poisoning. Proper disposal also helps reduce the risk of prescription drugs entering a human water supply or potentially harming aquatic life.

Hawaii's participation in the Take Back Initiative helps eliminate these life-threatening hazards by safely destroying old, outdated and unwanted substances, possibly saving the lives of children.

Unused or expired medicine should be disposed of properly when it is no longer needed for the illness for which it was prescribed.

· Medicines may lose their effectiveness after the expiration date.

· Improper use of prescription drugs can be as dangerous as illegal drug use.

Having unused and expired medicine in your home increases the risk of accidental poisoning.

· Homes where children or the elderly live are especially vulnerable to this danger.

· People may mistake one type of medicine for another type. Children may mistake medicine for candy.

Unused or expired medicine should not be thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet.

· Proper disposal helps reduce the risk of prescription drugs entering a human water supply or potentially harming aquatic life.